Chapter 75: Make A Mess
After a few hours of doing nothing but wasting her time away, Zhao Lifei thought about what to do. Her schedule was practically free and she had nothing else planned for the night. Her Qinqin was out of town, and she earned enough without having to do so much work now.
Suddenly, she thought back to the wine she had drunk the night before and decided to tell her grandfather before one of the people assigned to monitor her snitches on her.
She also knew that the matter of her spending the night with Yang Feng for two consecutive nights would quickly reach her grandfather's ears.
Picking up the phone, she called him and he answered on the second ring, which nearly made her chuckle.
"That was quick, grandfather." She mused, referring to how fast he picked up the phone.
"I just happened to be on my phone the same time you called me." He nonchalantly said, completely ignoring her teasing tone.
Li Xuan who was also in the car raised a brow at his boss's words. On the phone? Yeah, right.
Zhao Moyao was busy looking at his contracts to even think about lifting his phone. The only reason why he picked up at lightning speed was that he specifically programmed a different ring tone for Zhao Lifei.
She laughed at his words, a fond smile on her face. "Well, I hope I wasn't disturbing you?"
Zhao Moyao tiredly said, "I was looking at a few contracts, so yes, you did disturb me."
If it had been anyone else who wasn't used to his cold shoulder, like his other grandkids, they would've felt insulted or hurt by his blatant words. But Zhao Lifei who was used to his prickling tone shrugged it off and didn't feel offended by it.
"I won't keep you for long, grandfather, don't worry. I just wanted to tell you something." She replied, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. She was anxious about his reaction to finding out she had given in to her desires and relapsed after being sober for a while.
After two years of intensive therapy, she can now admit that she had been dependent on alcohol and antidepressants at a very young age. She mimicked her mother's unpleasant behaviors, started drinking and taking pills as young as sixteen.
The pressure had taken a toll on her and she had found that drinking herself to oblivion numbed all her unpleasant feelings. Furthermore, her drunken state also places her in a vulnerable position that her enemies can take advantage of.
When she was drunk, she would ramble and reveal too much about herself which placed her in a bad predicament. For these very reason, Zhao Moyao specifically advised her to not drink for her health and also for her protection.
"Hm, what is it?" He asked her, placing his pen down to focus solely on her.
His granddaughter would often see him in person if she had something to say. However, since she had decided to tell him over the phone, he knew this was something big.
If it was a small matter, she would have no problem talking to him in person. But if it was something bad, he knew she would rather not see the disappointment in his face when he finds out.
"I-I drank wine." She spoke like a sullen child who was caught red-handed stealing from the cookie jar. Her voice grew tiny and was laced with guilt for breaking a promise.
Zhao Moyao paused whatever he was doing and thought about his next approach.
On one hand, he was angered that she had broken her promise. But on the other, he was glad she told him personally — even if she knew that someone would eventually send a report.
It meant at the least, she tried to keep her word and attempted to be honest with him which was his most favorable trait about a person.
He pressed his lips together and thought about what to say. After a few seconds of thinking, he decided not to harshly scold her but questioned her further.
"Why did you do it?" He asked, his voice neutral. It hid his emotions, which made Zhao Lifei feel as if she was a small child being interrogated by her parents.
"I didn't mean to, but in my hazed state, I just grabbed whatever drink was in the fridge. And it just happened to be the wine." She said, her voice growing smaller and smaller with each word.
The guilt was beginning to creep on her, nearly binding her tongue in place. Even though he didn't sound disappointed in her, she couldn't help but doubt herself.
Will she always disappoint the people who are important to her? Will she never be able to let go of her past tendencies?
Zhao Moyao raised a brow upon hearing that. Hazed state? Did something happen to her?
He turned towards Li Xuan and wrote down on a piece of paper to investigate what happened to her last night.
Nodding at his command, Li Xuan quickly grabbed his phone to call Sky Arc Complex and see if anyone visited her yesterday.
"How much did you drink?" Zhao Moyao asked, unsure if he wants to find out the answer.
"An entire bottle…" She trailed off, scared of what he would say.
Zhao Moyao felt his lips tug down into a frown.
An entire bottle? Of course, it was hard for her to not drink it all, she used to be an alcoholic. He had personally witnessed it himself.
She was at a banquet and was drunk out of her mind, causing a hysterical scene. At the time, Zheng Tianyi had publicly announced Xia Mengxi to be the love of his life and that the bond between him and Lifei was nothing more than ink on paper.
Heartbroken and thinking irrationally, she had told him she was willing to do anything to get him back. In a cruel trick against her, he had dared her to drink an entire bottle of wine on the spot if she wanted him to stay with her.
Like an obedient lapdog, she did as she was told. She had grabbed the largest bottle of wine and drank it within a matter of minutes, causing her to become so intoxicated, she could barely walk or speak properly.
Seeing that his intention had been fulfilled, Zheng Tianyi then proceeded to walk out and she had stumbled over her feet in an attempt to run after him.
Zhao Lifei's carefully cultivated image within the socialite circle had been ruined the moment she made a mess out of herself by chasing after him. She had stumbled over her heels causing her to harshly fall onto the floor. On top of it, because she was such an emotional drunk, she had cried like a child. Mascara had ran down her face, her make up had melted off, and she was a mess.
After a while, he spoke up again. "Will you do it again?" He asked her. He knew she could easily lie to him and say no, but he had enough trust in her to believe she wouldn't attempt to break another promise.
"I can't say I never will. But I will try my hardest not to drink any alcohol unless I'm under the supervision of someone I can trust." She truthfully said, not wanting to make another promise she couldn't uphold.
At her words, Zhao Moyao felt his lips twitch. She didn't lie to him, nor did she promise him anything. That was what he expected of her. "Do you remember what you did when you were drunk?"
Zhao Lifei paused at his words, thinking back to her hazy memories. She faintly remembered babbling to Yang Feng about her feelings and his comforting embrace.
The words he had used to soothe her from her self-deprecating thoughts had been imprinted on her mind, despite her drunken state.
Unfortunately, thinking about Yang Feng reminded her of what happened this morning which brought another rolling wave of guilt to settle into her.
"Yang Feng stayed with me until I sobered up…" She mumbled, her voice as quiet as a mouse. She prayed he didn't hear her, but Zhao Moyao heard each syllable clear as day.
"You were with Yang Heng?" He was surprised to hear this news. He knew the man was clearly charmed by his granddaughter, and aside from the blind Zheng brat, who wouldn't be? My granddaughter is the best, any man would've been either stupid or blind to not fall for her!
"Sir, it's Yang Feng…" Li Xuan whispered to him, but Zhao Moyao waved his hand at him.
Zhao Moyao held his phone away from his ear to reply to his secretary. "Whatever his name is, I don't care." With a loud "hmph!" Zhao Moyao turned away from his startled secretary.
Whatever his name was? Yang Feng wasn't just a nobody! Li Xuan couldn't help but sigh at how stubborn his boss was. It was clear to him where Zhao Lifei got her stubborn behavior. Both of them were unrelenting and incredibly hard-headed, making them very difficult to deal with.
"Yes, I was-"
"Did he do something to you?" Zhao Moyao cut straight to the chase. He was one finger away from typing into his second phone to send the military after Yang Feng if he had taken advantage of his granddaughter in her compromised state.
"No, I believe he didn't. Actually, I think he treated me really well-"
"Oh, that's good." Zhao Moyao placed his second phone away, his mood brightening. He knew he was smart to trust Yang Feng.
That boy might have a bad background and be involved with things that weren't exactly legal, but that didn't mean he wasn't raised right. As long as he makes sure to treat Lifei with the respect she deserves, then they won't have any problem.
She blinked at the sudden shift of her grandfather's tone. He didn't seem to be angry anymore, and if her intuition was correct, he seemed happy…?